Connectors capable of receiving a smart card are currently available in the market. A major plane of a conventional smart card is generally provided with an IC chip for storing information. After inserting the smart card into a compatible connector, the IC chip is electrically connected to a connecting means that can access information stored in the IC chip. Known designs for such a connecting means are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,900,273 and 6,159,051. The “major plane” referred to in this invention is directed to a plane constructed by a length direction and width direction of an object.
To ensure that the connecting means is activated to access the information stored in the IC chip only after the IC chip of the smart card has reached the designated position, a card sensor is integrally provided to the connecting means according to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,900,273 and 6,159,051.
The integral design of the card sensor with the connecting means in the known designs results in a higher cost. As exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,051, the card sensor is co-molded to the connecting means such that its manufacturing cost is relatively high. Furthermore, an alternative connecting means must be manufactured for applications that do not require a card sensor, such that the interchangeability of the connecting means in an assembly line is relatively limited.
Furthermore, to meet the consumers' demands for further reducing the weight and size of computer products, the thickness of a portable computer is a major concern for the consumers in selecting a portable computer. To further reduce the thickness of the portable computer, the computer manufacturers have been striving to reduce the sizes of various components, even by a difference of 2 to 3 mm, in order to reduce the overall thickness of the portable computer products.